Essay --

Iowa State University has a record breaking number of students enrolled for the 2013 school year. With such a boom in new students, ISU has to find a place to house these students. Housing development companies like Breckenridge Land Acquisition of Texas have taken on the daunting task of building new student housing in Ames. Breckenridge has run into several roadblocks that have delayed building. These delays mean that prospective students like George Johnson of Sioux City, IA are still being turned away due to housing constraints. â€Å"I was ecstatic when I was accepted into Iowa State, but when they said they couldn’t get my housing in order for the school year I had to find somewhere else to go,† Johnson said. ISU reached its fifth consecutive year of growth with 33,241 students attending. That’s a 2,201 student increase just from last year. A problem arises with this booming population of students. Iowa State University has too many students that it can’t house. ISU has utilized other housing developments around Ames, such as Legacy apartments in Campustown, and Maricopa apartments in West Ames, to help with the overflow. Even with all of the new acquired properties added in to ISU’s housing, there is still a need for student housing on and off campus. Companies like Breckenridge offer a solution to this problem. Breckenridge is a subdivision of Aspen Heights, a developer of duplex and Craftsmen style townhomes. Breckenridge representatives purchased 48 acres of property on what used to be the old Ames Middle School. The property sold at auction for $2.3 million last December. Their proposed plan for building on the land could house up to 900 students. Their plan has caused a great deal of controversy in the area... ...as steadily decreased since 2000. According to the Ames Chamber of Commerce, Ames High School enrollment has dropped from 1695 students in 2000 to 1495 in 2012. Former member of Ames School Board Patricia Brown said, â€Å"We want families to get kids into the school system so that we can support our Ames schools.† So what does this mean for Iowa State students? No new development can begin on the property until the lawsuit comes to a close. Also, without the proper zoning regulations amended, Breckenridge cannot develop any new land on the property. This means no new student housing on the land for the foreseeable future. This means that students like George Johnson may find that they have nowhere to go. â€Å"It was a major setback. I’m taking classes at DMACC at the moment, but hopefully I can get my housing situation figured out by next year,† said George Johnson.